About Sheila
Strategic Solutions Ltd was founded by Sheila Stokes White in 2002.
From work with John Sergeant to provide top leaders with a great conversation with purpose to work with the top management of a local authority using music as a metaphor for organisation change, Sheila works where worlds collide using the arts and sciences to inform her work to create endlessly stimulating and thought provoking opportunities for her clients. She creates bridges and opens gates between disciplines, sectors, organisations and departments shining light and perspective so that her clients can see the sacred cows and outdated assumptions in a new light. A thought linker and dream builder crossing boundaries and silos using shadow play to create “what if?s”. Her signature strengths include authenticity, passion, zest, ingenuity, perspective, balance and leadership. People make great personal breakthroughs after working with Sheila.
Her interventions and events combine creativity with boundaries creating an invisible though robust structure which operates as a container. This creates a safe and trusting environment where people can experiment, make mistakes and grow. The benefits of using Sheila include Seminal events which enter the culture of the organisation subtly bringing about attitudinal change which leads to undiluted inspiration, lasting results and transformation – people are changed forever.
For the last 9 years Sheila has been a non executive director of an NHS trust. She is a member of the the Audit and Remuneration Committees. Her role on the board has included offering a business perspective, expertise on an integrated approach to health and social care, acting as ambassador, challenging the executive, acting as critical friend on organisational development strategies and bringing a wider strategic partnership perspective to the table.
Sheila is Managing Director of an Organisational Development Company and has provided successful interventions to top teams all over the country on transformation, leadership and creative change management. Clients include private sector, SMEs. Central & local government, strategic partnerships and collaborations. Individually designed interventions to create transformational change, Coaching and mentoring is available to key players throughout any contract. The focus is on improving the strategic outlook and creative vision
Sheila has worked in partnership with the EU, European Commission, Council of Europe, Committee of the Regions and was the UK member on the expert panel which produced the Council of Europe’s manual on developing safe, secure and sustainable communities. The company advised the International Centre for Crime Prevention in Montreal on the development of an international leadership programme for municipal leaders offering a perspective on strategy and partnership and a particular perspective on the involvement of the private sector in renewal and regeneration. A skilled facilitator and keynote speaker, she has addressed diverse audiences including Institute of directors, municipal leaders, politicians and elected members throughout the UK and across Europe including in
- Australia
- Chile
- Enschede, Netherlands
- Scezchen, Poland
- Montreal
- Oosterhout, Netherlands
- London
- Dublin
The company created and delivered a bespoke programme for the Home Office Drugs Strategy Directorate to develop a performance management culture in the nine regional Drugs Prevention Advisory Teams across the country. As a strategic adviser to central and local government she has delivered successful assignments in all major cities of the UK and with strategic partnerships in all parts of the country eg Newcastle, Liverpool, Bristol, London, Cambridge, Manchester, Birmingham. Sheila wrote the guidance for the central government NRU widely used and adapted as a web based toolkit. She has supported the creation of an improvement culture and the development of leadership capacity providing development opportunities for the LSP team at the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit, and for the Neighbourhood Renewal Team at GONE. She oversaw a large scale intervention over several years selecting and leading a team of peers.
A humanities graduate, Sheila qualified as a probation officer at Bristol University subsequently became a chief officer, had training at the Tavistock Institute and at the University of Cambridge Institute of Criminology. She has extensive experience of working in the civil courts which deal with separation, divorce and custody of children and is a skilled and highly experienced mediator. She managed a team of officers in a prison offering long term therapeutic work with life sentence prisoners. She developed new methods within the service for mentoring and supervising staff. Her professional orientation and strengths include interpersonal skills, communication, social welfare and human psychology all of which have contributed to her success in the development of staff and leadership potential. A highly experienced mentor and facilitator she provides clients with clarity, vision and insight whilst offering support and challenge. Her great skill is to inspire others and harness commitment and passion in those with whom she works.
Sheila is a member of the Institute of Directors and a member of the Entrepreneurs Forum – which promotes entrepreneurship across the North East bringing highly successful business leaders together with budding entrepreneurs. She was a facilitator for them on a 6 month Business Breakthrough programme for businesses over 5 years old
She has written on topics as diverse as partnership, strategic focus, women in prison, a safe society, quality of life, the nature of partnership, drugs misuse prevention. A classically trained singer she uses jazz ensemble as metaphor for democratic rather than autocratic forms of leadership.